2003: Beef Checkoff helps fund E.coli research
by Charlene Schuster, Executive Director, Montana Beef Council
A research team at Montana State University in Bozeman wants to break the chain of E. coli O157:H7 contamination before animals get to the slaughterhouse. Extension Beef Specialist John Paterson will lead a research team in a checkoff-funded study to measure the effectiveness of an E. coli O157 vaccine during the 45 days after weaning.
Packers and government officials, among others, increasingly call for feedlots to take steps to reduce E. coli O157:H7. One study has shown that as many as 87 percent of calves have been exposed toE. coli O157:H7 prior to weaning. Other studies have shown the pathogen is endemic at the feedlot level.
While multiple hurdle systems at packing plants ensure an extremely remote chance of E. coli O157:H7 contamination of the carcasses and subsequent meat products, additional interventions at feed lots and ranches could further reduce the number of cattle shedding E. coli O157:H7 and provide a multi-stage process to eliminate this food safety risk. Intervening at the backgrounding stage seems a good time to try and reduce E. coli incidence before the cattle are shipped to feedlots, Paterson says.
Montana beef producers serving on the Montana Beef Council have identified beef safety as a top priority. It's an area where their beef checkoff dollars spent. Given the impact this pathogen has had on the entire industry, the outcome of this research could have important national implications. Checkoff funding for this project comes from the 50 cents that is sent to the Cattlemen's Beef Board authorized by producers to fund research, education and promotion.
"If we can reduce the prevalence of E. coli O157:H7 in feeder cattle," Paterson says, "and if we can appropriately manage them between weaning and the packing plant, then we could lower the prevalence of E. coli O157:H7 on harvest cattle, thereby reducing contamination on carcasses."
The research project calls for the use of the vaccine on calves starting during a 45-day preconditioning period. This study, funded through the $1-per-head beef checkoff and MSU, will split 800 newly weaned calves into six pens. Half of the calves in each pen will receive the E. colivaccine at day 0 and day 21 of the 45-day preconditioning period and the rest of the calves will not receive any treatments.
E. coli O157:H7 sampling will be done on the first day of the 45-day preconditioning period and day 45 of the preconditioning period. There is evidence to show when 15 to 20 percent of cattle in a pen are contaminated with E. coli O157:H7, multiple hurdle interventions at the packing plant can prevent carcass contamination. If, however, 40 percent or more of the cattle were contaminated, it was unlikely multiple interventions could eliminate all the E. coli O157:H7.
Beef: Questions & Answers is a joint project between MSU Extension and the Montana Beef Council. This column informs producers about current consumer education, promotion and research projects funded through the $1 per head checkoff. For more information, contact the Montana Beef Council at (406) 442-5111 or at beefcncl@mt.net